


in the dead of night (i've never felt so alive)

by keeping_your_distance



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, M/M, More tags to appear, Pining, also keith can use magic, au where they don't go to space but they all go the same school, but at this early in the game who is the one pining, magically connected rooms au, this was a spur of the moment thing i didnt mean for it to actually get written
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-20
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2018-12-17 19:40:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11858340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keeping_your_distance/pseuds/keeping_your_distance
Summary: A cold hand pinches Lance's tender spot and he almost screams, although, the sound resembled more of a squeak. Keith groans into his pillow. "It's not a dream.""You're supposed to pinch yourself!" Lance's whispers gradually becoming hysteric, "And of course it's not a dream! Why am I in your bed?"aka magically connected rooms au





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance sputters. "Dude, I don't know what you do in your spare time but if you did some mumbo-jumbo that got me here then I suggest you do it again and get me out of here."
> 
> "Lance, what the fuck."

 

There's never enough room for silence in the Sanchez family.

 

Small footsteps raid every hallway of the house by the young twins. His grandpa whom you can easily find sitting on his comfy couch keeps the TV or radio on for the whole day. The clanging pots and pans before every mealtime signal the household that mum's cooking in the kitchen, humming songs that pop up in her head and often pitch a few off-key notes but nevertheless music to Lance's ears. Lance would occasionally help -- a privilege given to the oldest child in the house -- and join in the medley. The only guaranteed time he's surrounded by the sweet sound of silence is in the dead of night within the four walls of his room, when the adults are fast asleep and the little monsters are out of trouble.

 

Lance stretches his limbs from his seat before slouching back to the bright screen. He stares at it as he mentally checks down the list. He's gone through the document once and managed to edit the major holes in his assignment. Then with a heavy sigh, he squints his dry eyes and finally saves the document, eventually hitting the shutdown button after missing it a couple times.

 

He rubs his bleary eyes, dragging himself to the bathroom and applies his cleansing routine because breakouts hold no bias to who gets it and does not follow the rules of society. Plus, his skin has been flawless ever since he started the routine and intends to keep it that way. (Although it doesn't seem to help the black circles under his eyes.)

 

With only enough strength to look through his left eye, he eventually shuffles back to his bedroom and makes a path towards his bed, stumbling across some objects along the way. Did he leave some books on the floor? Actually, did he even use books at all? Unable to find an immediate suitable answer, he blames it on the fuzziness that's taking over his mind and climbs into the bed, jotting it down in his to-do list once he wakes up in the morning.

 

Lance wriggles a bit for more warmth, but he struggles to find the usual position where he felt most comfortable. Because of this, his drowsiness slowly disappears, and irritation starts seeping in. It was when Lance was a little more awake did he discover a couple of things. The first thing was the unusual scent, a bit faint but it’s definitely there; the musky lavender and the soft subtle shampoo on his pillow and sheets. It was a scent that didn't belong in his house, much less found in his own bed.

 

The second thing was that while he laid by the side of the double bed, there's an extra outline of another person beside him. He can at least tell it's not Carlos, one of the twins who was no little than 5 years old. He wasn't heavy enough for Lance to sink to the centre (also his mattress was never this soft).

 

The stranger was fast asleep, their breathing light, almost silent and presence eerie with only a tousle of hair popping out from the edge of the blanket. Lance tries to move away but he accidentally kicks their leg. He sits at his spot frozen, as the stranger turns his back to face his way. They pull their head away from the sheets and their hair was stretching in all sorts of places, but Lance could spot their eyelids struggling to open, slowly but eventually. They blink the sleep away, brows furrowed once they saw him.

 

"What the- Lance?"

 

The third thing that wakes him up completely is that when Lance pokes their forehead -- with a little bit more force than he intended, and instead of a poke it was his whole palm -- a glare shoots back at him and kicks his side, meeting the carpet floor with a loud thud. "Oww-"

 

"What the hell are you doing in my room?" The voice was heavy with sleep but the roughness in his voice was awfully familiar. Lance's eyes are now adjusted to the dimness of the room and the silhouette of the stranger was more distinct.

 

Why the fuck is Keith in his bed?

 

Keith puffed in agreement. "That's what I'd like to know."

 

"Oh my god, you can read minds now?" Lance climbs back on the bed and under the sheets. Strangely, Keith shuffled to make room.

 

"You said it out loud, genius." Keith rubbed his eyes with a little bit of more force. His head stays resting on the pillowcase but the glare is fixated on his face. "Why're you in my bed?"

 

Lance scopes around the room and it's true. Now that his eyes are adjusted to the dark, he could recognise posters and notes on the walls and immediately realises that he is the one that's out of place. The floor was disturbingly clattered with clothes and school books, something that his mamá would've scolded him if she saw the state of the room. This isn't his room.

 

A cold hand pinches his tender spot and he almost screams, although, the sound resembled more of a squeak. Keith groans into his pillow. "It's not a dream."

 

"You're supposed to pinch yourself!" he whispers gradually becoming hysteric as he rubs his side, "And of course it's not a dream! Why am I in your bed?"

 

Keith mumbles into his pillow and Lance is freaking out by himself. He hits Keith with a pillow, "Keith, I'm serious. Don't you live like 10 minutes away? I don't sleepwalk and if I did, I sure wouldn't go to your house, much less even leave the house! I-" Keith's hand cups his mouth shut.

 

"Quiet." Keith sat up, his eyes looking more alarmed. Lance pokes his tongue out and Keith swipes his hand away in disgust. "What was that for?!"

 

"I'm sorry! Hey wha-" Before Lance could say anything else, Keith pushes his head down to the pillow before shuffling closer. Keith spits out a 'shhh' as he throws the blanket over each other, elbowing Lance in the process. "Ow-"

 

"Bring your feet under the cover and shut up already! Shiro's walking this way!" Lance was quick on the uptake and sucked in a breath.

 

Right on cue, there was a knock at the door. Lance's long legs curled in time as the door creaks open and through a small opening under the blanket, he could see Shiro's shadow traced on the walls. He was uncomfortable but he couldn't move, especially when he's in Keith's arms, back leaning against his chest. The discovery only made him realise how fast they closed the distance and he started to feel the heat rise to his cheeks and the outline of his ears. Lance tries his best to breathe as calm as possible.

 

Keith moves slowly and carefully to face Shiro, grunting softly. "Shiro?" Keith says, voice croaking softly, lacing confusion in his name and Lance could not believe how he pulled the act out of his ass so fast. The Keith he knew at school wasn't one to flexibly act out of the blue, and seeing the contrast up close -- which is way too close for comfort -- almost made him whisper ' _what the fuck'_  but given the situation, he decided against it.

 

"I heard something loud, so I was just checking to see what it was." Shiro's voice is in a low whisper.

 

Keith hummed. "Books.. fell 'm bed."

 

"Oh right.. sorry." Shiro apologises, quickly grabbing the doorknob. "Goodnight Keith," he says, closing the door and the room was once again dark. The footsteps outside Keith's room gradually disappears and once they heard a faint click of a door closing from the end of the hallway, Lance pops out from his hiding spot, releasing a breath that he didn't notice he was holding. This is the perfect time for Lance to say-

 

"What the hell?"

 

Lance sputters. "That's my line! Dude, I don't know what you do in your spare time but if you did some mumbo-jumbo that got me here then I suggest you do it again and get me out of here."

 

"Lance, what the fuck-" 

 

"I'm just saying, something happened -- I don't know what it is though, I thought that maybe since you liked researching about cryptids and possibly encountered the paranormal too, you probably angered them and they're getting you back for finding them or something like that -- and suddenly I'm here in your room. In the middle of the night. When you're 20 minutes away from my house. And we have to go to school in the morning. Oh god, how am I going to school? I'll have to go back home in pj's and mama's gonna ask me where I went and I won't have any idea how to tell her and--"

 

"Lance."

 

Lance huffs a breath. "Keith."

 

Keith puts his hand up while his other hand was rubbing his temples. Lance makes a conscious note to stay quiet, readjusting his position so that his legs are crossed. "Lance..." Keith looks up from the bed, "I've never been in a seance before. Dealing with the paranormal is... dangerous." The reply was a bit delayed but Keith doesn't seem to be angry about the abnormal situation.

 

"Well, it's a relief you think so too."

 

There was a little pause, a moment of silence. Lance soon felt the need to start vocalising his thoughts, a method that helped him judge and accept the situation and what he can do to get around it. Lance was an adaptable person, frighteningly so. He hasn't got a clue how he's suddenly in Keith's bed, and since Keith doesn't know, he decided that he'll just have to run home in the early morning and get in the house through the back window before anyone in the house wakes up.

 

With a sigh, Lance has already accepted the strange predicament and took this time to look around before spotting a strange old book piled under the school books on the desk. He was about to ask what it was until Keith started to speak. "But um... I may have done a bit of witchcraft though."

 

Lance's eyes widen. "You what?!"

 

Keith shuffles across the bed and grabs the book Lance was just looking at, pushing the books on top and settling back in his spot. He flips the book open and all of a sudden, the words began to glow bright gold. Lance stared, eyes wide and jaws dropped. Keith blew into the book to get rid of some dust and the letters begin to dance, jumping off the page and floating around the room. Lance would've been fascinated, maybe even impressed, if he didn't turn to see Keith's face that was twisted with confusion. Keith muttered under his breath. "That's never happened before."

 

"Are you talking about the glowing? Or the floating letters?"

 

"Both."

 

_Oh god, what have I gotten myself into_ , Lance thought. Keith turned to another page and blew again and the same thing happens. Now the whole room is completely illuminated, and Lance can finally see the dishevelled mullet head beside him in nothing more than a simple black shirt and red boxers. Lance pulls the sheets a little closer. 

 

"I, uh, bought this a couple days ago and this is the first time this happened. Hold on, I think I might know something, give me a sec." Keith started to flip through the pages while Lance stares up at the corners of the room, trying to collect whatever sanity he can hold to right now. Not only is his rival almost -- almost -- naked beside him, he needs to quickly grasp the fact that magic has somehow proven to be real and it's right in front of his eyes. 

 

"Found it." Lance peeked at the side as Keith reads the content, somehow ignoring his fingers tracing a glowing gold line. He looks up from the book and squinted at the floating letters. He looks to the side and to Lance. "Could you.. just quickly poke the letters behind you? Middle, left, then right?"

 

Lance turns to the other side and spots the letters that they needed. He pokes at the first letter and it reverberated into a brighter tone before disappearing in front of his eyes.

 

He's lost it for sure. Definitely.

 

He panics internally, on set for the next letter. And the next. He turns to look at Keith, who got out of the bed at some point and began to poke at the rest of the letters he needed. The rest of the letters popped into fine pieces of glitter, making a trail back into the book and once again Lance and Keith were in the dark. Everything was silent until Lance spoke.

 

"Did it work?"

 

Keith peeks at the hallway. "It's still my house." Sounding a little bit disappointed, he quietly shuts the door and paces his way towards the bed. The warmth that was here a couple seconds ago was replaced with the natural cold draft of the house. They fit themselves under the blanket with a little gap settled in between and Keith's back facing him. "Sorry," Keith starts, "I'll offer you a ride home in the morning."

 

"Thanks," Lance took it as an invitation to bunk and moved around to make himself comfortable. To be honest, Keith's bed really was cosy and softer than his so it didn't take him long before he was fast asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm actually surprised at the lack of voltron in my works despite being the only series I've read fics from recently. So here it is! This really was a spur of the moment, I remember I actually started the story earlier in the year but I never touched it until I had a free period at school. I didn't get anything done except this haha. I'm taking a risk to post chapter 1, because I know (painfully well) how I can never finish anything unless than oneshots. This'll probably be my stress reliever from all the studying for the exams in a couple months time :)
> 
> I am not yet feeling the stress of exams but it's been really obvious by the number of days diminishing that tell me I don't have that much time left ^^"
> 
> (Update: I know I said it'll be done in a couple weeks but I am a persistent and stubborn procrastinator (and the sudden news that I'm going to spend Christmas and New Years in the Philippines). See you soon!!)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He rolls over and covers his face with his hands. No wait. Maybe he didn't notice that his mum had recently changed the laundry soap to lavender until now. Yep-- Yeah. That sounds about right. Maybe he was so relaxed this morning that he had imagined the boy of his dreams waking up from his bed and the magic twist was just the play of the dreaming mind.
> 
> "Shit." Lance had wanted to say, but it wasn't his voice.

It didn't take long until Lance registered a leg to his stomach, the searing pain embedded right into his gut and waking him up. If it was his brother, he would take not even a second to bring a leg over on top, a delayed parry with his leg. However, 1) The leg was longer and 2) not only was there a leg, but a whole torso and an arm splayed over his head.

Which leads to number 3) He can't breathe.

"-eeeeithh," Lance groans from underneath. He musters some of his strength but his arms feel sore and prickly from all the weight above. Keith makes a sound but he doesn't move. And thus, the morning version of unstoppable force versus immovable object, much least to say, there wasn't enough action going around. No matter how much Lance wriggles underneath, Keith stays still, purposely trying to keep his position. Why is he so hard to deal with first thing in the morning? Lance manages to pop his head out from under before plopping back into the bed, his eyes staring up at the plain white ceiling. "Keeeeeeith, wake uuuup," Lance whispers as he nudges the nearest limb. There was no answer.

Last night he must've kicked him really hard to wake him up.

"Keeeith, you need to bring me home, remember?" Keith hums (croaks?) faintly and Lance isn't sure if it was a reply or if he's starting to wake up. Lance pokes into the soft part of Keith's leg that was poking out of the blanket and kept at it until he jerks it away. Lance could see Keith's head turn to face his way with the same blinking eyes and frown from when he kicked him last night. Maybe it was his natural waking up face. "Morning, mullet boy."

"..Mm," Keith turns his head away and pulls the blanket closer to him but Lance holds it still. "Let go."

"Nuh-uh, you promised me that you were going to take me home in the morning."

"Five more minutes."

"Nope," Lance pops the p, "You need to get up. School's in an hour and I need to get home. Stop hogging the pillows. Move." He snatches a loose pillow and it completely threw off the equilibrium of comfort. Lance smirks and Keith couldn't have looked any madder but his hair was in different directions, and Lance was close enough to spot a trail of drool from the edge of his mouth. Somehow, his glare doesn't seem as threatening anymore. Rather, Lance sees it as offensively endearing. "I'm gonna wash my face, where's your bathroom?" Lance asks.

Lance couldn't hear him clearly since Keith's face disappeared into the pillow. He may have heard "two doors from the right" so he sought out from the bed. He pops his head out to the hallway, intrigued at how it's really similar to his hallway at home. Especially when recognises a certain stain on the patterned carpet and remembers its an exact replica of the one in his home. That stain could only have happened if Keith had somehow dropped pancake syrup and cleaned it secretly with toothpaste so that no one will know about his late night cravings. (Needless to say that they did the next morning.) He closes the door and counts to five, before opening again. The stain is still there.

Lance turns to the sleeping boy who hasn't moved an inch since he got out of bed. "Uh, Keith?"

"...What." Keith doesn't move but his voice is clearer than five minutes ago. The boy stretches his arms, reaching out to the end of the bed. He takes a big breath in, chest rising and back arching and a small whimper escapes his throat as he keeps his legs straight, before slumping back into the bed. He's slowly waking up, but obviously not fast enough.

"I don't think you need to give me a ride home." Lance continues.

Keith looks straight at Lance with heavy eyes until he breaks the gaze with a yawn. Lance looks at him and he catches the sight of Keith's arm reaching to scratch under his shirt, revealing some build that Lance could only wish he had if he too had the time to work out. Lance's eyes look up immediately when Keith huffs out a breath. "Explain."

"We're in my house."

Keith stands and lazily makes his way to the door. He opens it and scans the hallway before closing the door and raising an eyebrow at Lance. Lance peeks over his shoulder, spotting an unfamiliar blue carpet.

"What the," Lance reaches in and swings open the door again to reveal his hallway, and he's sure that it's his. There was a dresser that had always been situated beside his door with a white stitched sash across the top, and countless frames of his family decorated above it. He looks at Keith for confirmation and he sees the boy slide his hands down his face, which to Lance, looks like he's saying it's way too early for this.

Keith takes the door and opens it again, and the dresser disappeared and pots of indoor plants appeared in their stead. "Well, that's convenient."

Lance takes a step out of the room, expecting something to occur but felt nothing out of the ordinary. "Guess I'll see you at school?"

Keith replied with a light effortless smile before shooing him out of his room, "See you at school."

When Lance opened the door his room returned to normal. There was no sign to show that he was in his room. His bed is made with his school bag resting on top of it. His laptop sits on his desk, surrounded by printouts that he never got to clean up. He had left the desk light on the whole night.

Last night couldn't have happened... right?

 

 

 

With the strange occurrence last night, Lance had felt that the day seemed as normal as it could be by definition; school was filled with monotonous classes and the usual recess with Hunk and Pidge. The normality of it was almost enough to convince him that last night was only a figment of his imagination; a desperate attempt to convince him to sleep earlier than he had done in recent nights. It's almost the end of lunch and despite the 'see you at school', Lance couldn't spot Keith anywhere. Maybe he didn't even go at all.

He returns home and there had been no sight of the mullet boy anywhere. He swings his bag off the side of his desk and lays flat on the bed, head facing the covers as he takes a moment of shut-eye. He admits that he's been running on three to four hours of sleep for a couple of nights in a row and last night must've been the last straw. He can't help but remember the ghost warmth that lingered between the sheets of Keith's bed.

He rolls over and covers his face with his hands. No wait. Maybe he didn't notice that his mum had recently changed the laundry soap to lavender until now. _Yep_ \-- Yeah. That sounds about right. Lance slept like a baby, maybe the lack of sleep and the bed signed him up for a powerful therapeutic session that had him completely passed out. Maybe he was so relaxed this morning that he had imagined the boy of his dreams waking up from his bed and the magic twist was just the play of the dreaming mind.

"Shit." Lance had wanted to say, but it wasn't his voice.

Lance jumped up from his bed and looked at where the voice had come from. The door was wide open and under it stood Keith, jaw twisting into a scowl, the straps of his bag falling from his shoulders as he's trying to understand the situation before him. Lance looks past Keith at the neutral cream colour plastered on the walls. Keith came home -- from his home -- and he's now in Lance's room.

Keith sighs. "I'll figure this out. Just... give me some time." He sounds a little rough around the edges, a little borderline towards anger but Lance could sense that his frustration isn't towards him. Keith fixes his bag straps. "I'll fix this as soon as possible as if nothing had ever happened."

Lance raises an eyebrow. _Spending a night with Lance McClain was a bad thing?_ "Hey man, it's okay. Take all the time you need."

"Thanks." Keith loosens and swings his bag beside the door.

"Wait!" Lance shouts and Keith freezes in place, eyes wide in shock.

"W-What-- What is it?"

"Before you do anything to my room, don't-- I know that it was dark but _please_  don't make my room look like yours."

Keith frowns. "It's not messy. I just moved the other day, I was in the middle of packing..." He picks up his bag and hangs it on the doorknob. "It looks like I'll have to do it another day."

(He could've just left his bag there, Lance was just telling him to keep the overall room clean. The bag isn't doing anything wrong.)

Keith takes off the beanie and pushes it into his bag. He uses his fingers to comb through his hair, pausing a bit when he meets a tangle. "So, do you have a spare sleeping bag I can use or do we take half-half of the bed?"

Lance shuffles on his bed, almost a bit flustered that not only does he not mind sleeping on the same bed, he made it an option. He doesn't mind sharing the bed at all. He cannot believe this boy. He places a hand on his chest dramatically, "Oh my god Keith, you're skipping a couple steps in this relationship," Lance smirks, "You have to meet my parents first and then we can sleep together."

"Lance."

Lance laughs. He sits himself up and raises his arms as if to gesture to his room and smiles sheepishly. "Your choice. Mi casa es su casa?"

The corner of Keith's lips lift. "We're going to have to set some ground rules here."

 

\- -

 

 

So they did. Just easy ones to follow, ones that are stupid _not_ to do. 

 

For the time being, Keith using magic is a secret; no one needs to know. Not until the two learn more about whatever they're dealing with. This also implies that _room sharing_  is a no-go in conversations _._

They do homework right after school and bring whatever they need for the day with them (or have a spare at their place) because they won't know whose bedroom they'll be in that night. They see each other in two classes, so they can leave their copy of the book in their own room. Lance will have to figure how to bring his products with him.

Try to keep things clean and not suspicious.

 

Also, they'll have to learn not to get into each other's throats. _Communication is key._  

The words,  _'These rules are subject to be revised'_  are written at the bottom of the imaginary sheet of rules.

And just like that, it had turned dark. The street lights flicker on one by one, illuminating the road as the remnants of the sun disappear behind the houses. Keith decides that it would be better in the long run to share the bed, otherwise their limbs will ache unnecessarily. Plus, both their beds are big enough to fit two. Lance doesn't complain.

Before they went to sleep, Keith told him that he’ll find some sort of information about the book since tomorrow was the weekend. When Lance told him that he’ll help, the slight smile as he said ‘thanks’ had the power to freeze him and at that moment, he wanted nothing more than to see… more.

 

\- -

 

Lance wakes up to the rustling of the sheets beside him. His eyes focus on the time on the alarm at his desk, the phantom blare of the alarm rings faintly in his ears. Out the window, the sky was a warm blue, ready to welcome the morning sun. The change of the seasons can be felt by the chill air as his skin prickles out of the blankets. It's a little too cold for his liking, so he pulls the blanket over his bare shoulders.

A voice croaks into a groan as Keith drags it back down, pulling his feet into a bundle. He curls in his spot beside Lance, his hair the only thing popping out from the covers just like how he was found the night before and less splayed out in the open.

Keith’s bed hair taunts him in front of his eyes as the boy blocks any cold air from entering the warm dome. Lance contemplates but decides that he will fluff that hair at a different time but for now, he'll bury himself into the strange feeling of early morning company.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *chair turns around* "It is I. I have returned."
> 
> :3
> 
> I am still alive haha, just busy with irl stuff especially since I'm starting uni next week. To be honest I haven't done any writing for the past two months (haven't read much either, it's almost tragic ^^"). Perhaps I left all my motivation back in the Philippines, BUT I GOT IT BACK. I wrote the majority of this chapter when I was there, and all I did was add to it and for a bit, I wondered where this story will lead us to but I wrote down the main points (they're really simple and not much of it is in detailed but it's there).
> 
> This story will continue, but I won't promise you any dates because I can't stick to it, sorry. All the kudos, comments and subscriptions do make my day and make me inspired and motivated to return to writing ^^ See you guys soon!!

**Author's Note:**

> I'm actually surprised at the lack of voltron in my works despite being the only series I've read fics from recently. So here it is! This really was a spur of the moment, I remember I actually started the story earlier in the year but I never touched it until I had a free period at school. I didn't get anything done except this haha. I'm taking a risk to post chapter 1, because I know (painfully well) how I can never finish anything unless than oneshots. This'll probably be my stress reliever from all the studying for the exams in a couple months time :)
> 
> I am not yet feeling the stress of exams but it's been really obvious by the number of days diminishing that tell me I don't have that much time left ^^"
> 
> (Update: I know I said it'll be done in a couple weeks but I am a persistent and stubborn procrastinator (and the sudden news that I'm going to spend Christmas and New Years in the Philippines). See you soon!!)


End file.
